Sensitive Detection of Triacetone Triperoxide (TATP) by Acetone-Assisted Photoionization Ion Mobility Spectrometry

Triacetone triperoxide (TATP) is a kind of peroxide-based explosive. Because of the preparation of easily obtained raw materials, simple preparation method, TATP was used by terrorists for terrorist attacks and criminal activites. In this study, an acetone-assisted photoionization ion mobility spectrometry (AAPI-IMS)was developed for sensitive detection of TATP with 25 mg/L acetone as the dopant. The parameters of AAPIIMS were optimized with respect to electric field intensity and temperature of inlet. Under the optimal conditions, the linear range of 5—100 ng and the limit of detection of 1.2 ng were achieved for TATP. The reactant ions and product ions were identified to be (CH₃COCH₃)₂H⁺ and fragment ions of TATP m/z 91 (CH₃)₂C(O)OOH⁺ with time-of-fight mass spectrometry (TOF MS). The experimental results indicate AAPI-IMS can be used to detect trace TATP with high sensitivity.